In season now: onion weed
You have it in your yard, no doubt about it.
If you live around Sydney, in Australia you would have noticed the white flowers popping up everywhere, unexpected, un-invited, in places you would not have thought there was nothing else but lawns..
Yep, onion weed lies dormant for months on end, and when the right time comes (rain, and warmer temperature of late spring) it shoots up fast, it flowers and seeds and before you know it is gone.
Several gardeners and land managers have a real dislike for this pioneer species, mostly because it stands so tall (about 30-40cm tall) and proud, it defies humans in creating the perfect lawns. Regardless of what you think of it, this is a hard one to control. Hand weeding is difficult, as when you pull the stalks they would break free from the underground bulb facilitating the splitting of it and the formation of several smaller bulibis. Yep, you pull it, it multiplies!
Gardening forums are filled with frustrated gardeners trying to overcome this pesky plant, and advise is generally quite harsh, let me quote a few:
"I have tried to pull it out, dig it out, remove the top 8 inches of soil and replace, then we cut it all at ground level, covered it with overlapping newspaper( 1 whole paper opened up flat) and mulched, this stopped it for a few weeks, maybe 6-8 but now it is back.......anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of it?"
"I use full strength zero will kill main bulb but not side bulbs so you have to keep at them with full strength, good luck."
"Where we are able we belt them with metasulfuron methly (Brush off / Esteem) combined with Pulse penetrant. But even with this one treatment is rarely enough."
About learning to live with it and enjoy it as a vegetable? Yes, Nothoscordum inodorum AKA N. gracile is edible, and actually a good treat too. Try the flowers, as they come out, fresh, sweet and onion-y. Think of the possibilities.
NOTE: there are lots of plants around the globe by the name of onion weed. this post is about our own local weed, and might not relate to your particular one. To each its own (weed). If you are looking for three-corner garlic ( also known as onionweed) check out the article here>
Edible Uses: Unlike other plants in the garlic family, the leaves are not excellent. However; the flowers are excellent in salads, making them look attractive as well as adding a persistent and lingering onion-like flavour. The bulb is rather small but has a very nice mild garlic flavour.
Medicinal Uses: Although no specific mention of medicinal uses has been seen for this species, members of this genus are in general very healthy additions to the diet. They contain sulphur compounds (which give them their onion flavour) and when added to the diet on a regular basis they help reduce blood cholesterol levels, act as a tonic to the digestive system and also tonify the circulatory system.
Reference:
Plantnet>
Plant For a Future>